So how are the players that are using torpedo bats doing anyway?
Introduction
A couple months ago, I wrote about the new torpedo bat after the Yankees power outburst opening week. Considering that we’re over a third of the way into the season, I think it’s safe to say that we have a large enough sample size to judge the results those players are getting.
The Good
Paul Goldschmidt, Yankees
The 37 year old first baseman is having a career renaissance after a down year in 2024. In 54 games this season, he’s hitting .343/.399/.490 with 5hr, good for a 150 wRC+. While his BB% hasn’t changed at all from 2024, he’s cut his K% from 22.9% to 15.5%. His 1.8 fWAR has already exceeded the 1.1 from last year. I don’t know if it’s the bat or the fun new team, but clearly whatever he’s been doing has rejuvenated the AZ fan favorite’s offense.
Dansby Swanson, Cubs
The 30 year old shortstop and former Diamondback #1 draft pick, who’s also coming off a down 2024 season (.242/.312/.390 99 wRC+) is hitting .251/.313/.450 in 49 games with a 112 wRC+. Those aren’t crazy good results, but I think the Cubs are more than happy that their premium FA shortstop is healthy and hitting well again.
Cal Raleigh, Mariners
The Mariners catcher’s 2024 season wasn’t bad at all; he hit .220/.312/.436 with 34 hrs and a 117 wRC+ in 153 games. In 53 games though this season, his bat has become otherworldly good. Raleigh’s hitting .258/.372/.603 with 19 HRS and a 179 wRC+. He’s on pace for a 9 fWAR, 55+ HR season. Clearly Raleigh needs to stick with the new bat because the results speaks for itself.
The Bad
Alec Bohm, Phillies
Unlike the previous three players, Bohm’s results have been less than satisfactory. Last season he hit .280/.332/.448 with a 115 wRC+, this season he’s hitting .273/.311/.384 for only a 93 wRC+. Might be time to switch back to your old bat, Alec.
Willson Contreras, 1B/DH Cardinals
Last season in 84 games, Contreras hit .262/.380/.468 with a 140 wRC+. This season in 51 games he’s hitting 244/.323/.383 good for only a 101 wRC+. While that’s not drasticaly worse, it’s still a massive step down from last year. Some of this could be age related decline for the 33 year old, or it could just be the bat giving him worse results. For now I’m going to lump Contreras in with Bohm as a player getting worse results from the Torpedo bat.
Functionally the Same Results
Nico Hoerner, Cubs
Last year the Cubs second baseman hit .273/.335/.373, good for a 103 wRC+. This season he’s hitting .292/.338/.371, good for a 102 wRC+. I’d call the difference in his other statistics a wash. The torpedo bat is neither helping or hurting Hoerner all that much.
Junior Caminero, Rays
The barely legal 21 year old Rays third baseman Caminero only played in 43 games last season for the rays, but hit .248/.299/.424, good for a 105 wRC+. This season he’s hitting a slightly worse .244/.273/.435, which amounts to a 100 wRC+. If I include the seven game cup of coffee in 2023 though, where he hit 235/.278/.353 with a 76 wRC+, that brings his totals down enough that I’d argue his results are functionally the same, maybe even slightly better. Either way though, it’s really not fair to judge Caminero on two 50 game samples. He’s still very young and regardless of the bat he’s using, I’d expect him to continue to improve. There’s also some other factors like his current ballpark that are undoubtedly affecting his results, so there is a lot of noise that is hard to separate from the rest of the relevant variables.
Conclusion
Just based on the sample above, I think it’s safe to say that Torpedo bat does improve performance more than it hurts it. We are still dealing with TINY sample sizes, so I’ll be back to revisit this in another 50 games to see how these players are doing.